Unable to Erase and Unlock an old co-workers Macbook (Pro, M series)

Question

Unable to Erase and Unlock an old co-workers Macbook (Pro, M series)

So recently, I joined an organization where a co-worker left their MacBook Pro. He assured me that he signed out his Apple ID (and even shared a screenshot of his linked devices, where that Macbook was clearly not listed). We have also tried using the device password, but it is rejecting that password due to too many attempts.

Now the activation lock is stuck at asking for the Apple ID and password, but understandably the former co-worker cannot share his apple ID password with us.

So in short, because this is the newer Mac, despite doing a disk erase from recovery options, it still claims that the Mac is linked to the Apple ID, but this particular device was already de-linked and not on my co-workers list. Furthermore, its now not taking the device password as an option (too many attempts) and the previous user (who is no longer at our organization) cannot just give his Apple ID password.

How can we completely reset this device so that it is usable?

MacBook Pro (M3, 2023)

Posted on Jul 21, 2025 04:17 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

66,986 points

Jul 21, 2025 11:17 AM in response to mohitsharma29

There are two possibilities here.

It is a FindMy activation lock.
It is a Firmware Password lock

The only way you can be certain which one it may be is if you have the device enrolled into an MDM. The MDM administrator should be able to tell whether it is a FindMy activation lock. If it is a FindMy lock, then someone will need to contact Apple Business Manager support for assistance.

If it is a Firmware Password lock, then you will need to take the device to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider along with the proper paperwork which includes acceptable proof of purchase and a company ID so that Apple or the AASP can remove the firmware lock.

FYI, our organization just had such an issue where it appeared the laptop had a FindMy activation lock with the former employee's AppleID, but in reality it was just a Firmware Password lock possibly from having FindMy active previously. Apple's documentation is very poor here and even the documentation Apple provides to AASP's doesn't clearly distinguish these two issues, or how to go about resolving them. The information I have provided here is what I learned while trying to unlock one of our Macs. Yes, we were finally successful at getting it unlocked after much research and back & forth with various people at Apple. The front line Apple support agents are absolutely no help as they will just point you to other low level consumer support agents which may be more specialized in such matters, but only as it relates to consumer issues....not business/enterprise related issues.

Hope this helps make it easier for you to resolve the issue.

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Answer 2

Jul 21, 2025 07:39 AM in response to mohitsharma29

The best would be to contact the System Administrator of the IT department of the organisation.

Remove Activation Lock on the web if a device is offline · Go to www.iCloud.com/find. · Sign in to your Apple Account. · Select the device that ...

How to remove Activation Lock

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Answer 3

Jul 21, 2025 10:14 AM in response to mohitsharma29

Any chance the device is enrolled in an MDM? That's what I have done for the Macs in my company, and a Mac needs to be unenrolled before it can be wiped.

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